Course worker Heather Streets, from Petaluma, waves the double yellow flag during the Pirelli GT4 America Series along Pine Avenue during the 45th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Sunday, April 14, 2019. Spencer Pumpelly won the race. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Spencer Pumpelly won the Pirelli GT4 America Series race Sunday at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach April 14, 2019 and got a champagane shower from Ian James who came in second. Photo By Chuck Bennett

Pirelli GT4 America Series cars race up Pine Avenue during the 45th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Sunday, April 14, 2019. Spencer Pumpelly won the race. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Spencer Pumpelly drives past a photographer on his way to victory in the Pirelli GT4 America Series race at the 2019 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, Apr. 14, 2019. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

Pirelli GT4 America Series driver James Sofronas (14) races up Pine Avenue towards Seaside Way during the 45th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Sunday, April 14, 2019. Spencer Pumpelly won the race. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

LONG BEACH >> It wasn’t until the final few seconds were remaining in the 45-minute Pirelli GT4 America Series race for someone to finally challenge Spencer Pumpelly for the lead on the streets of downtown Long Beach. Heading into Turn 9, Ian James took a look to the inside of Pumpelly’s Porsche 718 Cayman and […]

Spencer Pumpelly drives to victory in the Pirelli GT4 America Series race at the 2019 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, Apr. 14, 2019. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

After crashing in the Pirelli GT4 America Series race, driver Nicolai Elghanayan limps his damaged car back to the pits at the 2019 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, Apr. 14, 2019. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

Race cars turn onto Seaside Way from Pine Avenue in the Pirelli GT4 America Series race at the 2019 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, Apr. 14, 2019. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

Blade Hildebrand, left, and Jeff Hoffman fly off of the jumps during the Stadium Stuper Trucks race after the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, Apr. 14, 2019. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

Robby Gordon, left, and Blade Hildebrand take the jumps during the Stadium Stuper Trucks race after the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, Apr. 14, 2019. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

LONG BEACH >> It wasn’t until the final few seconds were remaining in the 45-minute Pirelli GT4 America Series race for someone to finally challenge Spencer Pumpelly for the lead on the streets of downtown Long Beach. Heading into Turn 9, Ian James took a look to the inside of Pumpelly’s Porsche 718 Cayman and […]

Stadium Super Trucks driver Robby Gordon defeats Matt Brabham in the final race of the weekend at the 45th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Sunday, April 14, 2019. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

LONG BEACH >> It wasn’t until the final few seconds were remaining in the 45-minute Pirelli GT4 America Series race for someone to finally challenge Spencer Pumpelly for the lead on the streets of downtown Long Beach.

Heading into Turn 9, Ian James took a look to the inside of Pumpelly’s Porsche 718 Cayman and tried again in Turn 11.

Both times, Pumpelly held off the challenge and took a victory that seemed destined from the drop of the green flag.

That doesn’t mean he some doubts at the end. Every time Pumpelly looked into his mirrors, he said he could see James’ car getting bigger and bigger even though he was clocking some of his fastest laps of the race.

“I got that sinking feeling and sure enough on that last lap, he got really close and forced me to get defensive in Turn 9,” Pumpelly said. “It is really exciting to get this win in Long Beach. This is kind of the spiritual home for street racing. I have never won here, so this is a cool first win.”

Only twice did James cut Pumpelly’s lead to less than a second while running under green. He did it once on Lap 15 of 29 with about 20 minutes to go and again on the final lap, taking the checkered flag in second in his Panoz Avezzano, 0.687 of a second behind Pumpelly.

“Our car always seems to get better the more fuel gets out of it,” James said. “The starts we are on the defense, but then we always go on the attack at the end.”

But he needed some help from a lapped car in the closing laps to help him make his final move.

“We came up on a back maker and that let me get right on his tail,” James said. “He couldn’t get away after that.”

Michael Cooper finished third in a McLaren 570S followed by Matt Keegan, who was competing as an amateur, and Shane Lewis.

Only once did a position change in the top five in this 29-lap race, and that happened when Nicolai Elghanayan stuffed the front end of his KTM X-Bow into the tire wall in Turn 1 on Lap 10. He was running on cold tires and crashed about a third of a mile after the green flagged waved ending a lengthy caution period. He finished 17th in the 20-car field.

Only four of the first 12 laps were run under the green flag.

Just three laps into the race, Frank Gannett got rear ended by another car in Turn 9, and it took five laps and approximately 10 minutes for the track safety crew to put his Ford Mustang on the tow truck.

Stadium Super Trucks

It took Matt Brabham close to half an hour to work his way from the last row of the grid to first place.He stayed there for only a minute.

On the last lap of the Stadium Super Truck finale at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, Robby Gordon passed Brabham with half a lap remaining and held off a desperate last-turn challenge from Brabham to win by 0.505 of a second.

“The last corner of the last lap, I am pulling the old go-kart move, I am looking in the mirror more than looking forward,” Gordon said. “I was waiting for him to tag me, but luckily I had enough of a gap to get away.”

Brabham, the winner of Saturday’s race in Long Beach, finished second followed by Gavin Harlein, who collided with Zach VanMatre early in the race and fell a lap behind the leaders. Based on his 1-2 finish, Brabham was crowned the overall champion of the weekend.

Brabham bullied his way into second place. He pulling inside of Sheldon Creed on Lap 5 of 12 and shoved Creed into the tire barrier. Then, he set his sights on Gordon.

Twice, he tried to pass Gordon on the outside of Turn 9. Both times he was denied. On Lap 11, Brabham would not be denied, sneaking past the inside of Gordon on the inside of Turn 1.

Damian Dottore began covering high school sports for the Orange County Register in 1996, and in between covered motor sports as well. One of his first major motor sports assignments was covering the Daytona 500 in which Dale Earnhardt died. From badminton to sailing to the Stanley Cup finals, he has been there for the Register at least once. When not at work, Damian enjoys road cycling, golf, watching Liverpool soccer games and participating in sheep herding and nosework competitions with his two German Shepherds.